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Asia

Pakistan

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FRAGILITY RANKING

30th out of 180 countries


Overview

Pakistan hosts more than 1.4 million registered Afghans who have been forced to flee their homes. The majority of them live in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, located along the Afghan border, where Relief International is working to improve educational outcomes for vulnerable children.

Cycles of natural disasters combined with unending instability in Pakistan have destroyed livelihoods and displaced families from their homes. As a result, Pakistan currently ranks 161 out of 191 countries on the United Nations Development Program’s Human Development Index.

Relief International works in the poorest provinces in the country, where nearly a third of residents live below the poverty line. Many are Afghan refugees who have fled violence in their country and settled in Pakistan’s northwestern provinces in search of safety and higher living standards.

Relief International has worked in Pakistan since the massive earthquake struck the country’s northern region in 2005. Our teams on the ground responded by providing emergency and healthcare services to the survivors.

Today, our programs focus on responding to the country’s frequent natural disasters by partnering with local communities to restore livelihoods through sustainable agricultural and business initiatives as well as provide healthcare, life-saving shelter kits, food aid, and cash assistance to affected families.

In addition, we focus on improving educational outcomes for vulnerable children and young adults. We collaborate with stakeholders to enroll Afghan refugee and Pakistani children in the 45 schools we support, working to transform an educational system that suffers from poor graduation rates due to poverty and underinvestment.

Our health and nutrition programs provide life-saving care to people in vulnerable situations. Our mobile medical units provide care and offer trauma counseling to affected people living in hard-to-reach areas. At our healthcare facilities, children are screened for malnutrition and treated. We treat waterborne diseases caused by lack of access to clean water sources. To help reduce these diseases, we provide water, hygiene, and sanitation services: improving access to and the sustainable management of existing water sources.

“Thousands of families have been displaced from their homes: their houses completely submerged, and crops and livestock wiped by the floods,” says Relief International Country Director, Ishfaq Anwar. “Relief International’s work in Pakistan has never been more critical, and we are committed to supporting the communities we work with through this intensely difficult period.”


Our 2022 Impact in Pakistan
14.5K
students benefitting from RI supported schools in Pakistan
70
schools supported by RI
2.4K
refugee students completing RI readiness courses
11.5K
households receiving essential items

Stories From Pakistan

Learn more about our work in Pakistan from our staff and program participants.

Pakistan

Pakistan Floods: Five things to know 12 months on

Devastating flooding in 2022 affected 33 million people in Pakistan. Relief International have worked with local communities to help them rebuild ever since.

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Pakistan

Devastating Floods in Pakistan

Historic floods and deadly landslides have ravaged large parts of Pakistan, leaving millions of people facing vulnerability.

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Pakistan

A Mashara (Leader) for Afghan Women in Pakistan

Parchee is a leader in one of the Afghan Community Forums Relief International has helped to set up in Pakistan.

Through this forum she provides advice, training and moral support for local Afghan women in her community.

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Pakistan

Providing Food Packets to Afghan Families in Pakistan during the Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted everyone living in Pakistan, but no community more so than Afghan refugees.

To support these communities, Relief International has provided over 7000 Afghan households with food packets consisting of flour, rice, pulses, spices, cooking oil, sugar, salt & curry packets.

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Pakistan

Improving Access to Primary Education in Pakistan, One Family at a Time

Laiba, Nazia, Salma and Sania, Afghan refugees between the ages of 7 and 8, were unable to go to school in Pakistan. Now through an ongoing RI program aimed at creating more equitable access to education, all four are excelling at their local primary school.

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Pakistan

In Photos: Relief International Responds to COVID-19 Outbreak in Pakistan

In Pakistan, Relief International teams on the ground are responding to the country’s major outbreak of COVID-19 by providing hygiene kits to Afghan refugee families who will be hardest hit by the pandemic.

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Pakistan

Closing the Education Gap for Refugee Children in Pakistan

Relief International’s education program in Pakistan works to improve Afghan refugees’ equitable access and enrollment in primary education in Pakistani government schools, with a particular emphasis on girls and vulnerable families.

READ MORE
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Pakistan

Pakistan Floods: Five things to know 12 months on

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Pakistan

Devastating Floods in Pakistan

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Pakistan

A Mashara (Leader) for Afghan Women in Pakistan

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Pakistan

Providing Food Packets to Afghan Families in Pakistan during the Pandemic

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Pakistan

Improving Access to Primary Education in Pakistan, One Family at a Time

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Pakistan

In Photos: Relief International Responds to COVID-19 Outbreak in Pakistan

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Pakistan

Closing the Education Gap for Refugee Children in Pakistan

Aerial-Flood-Wall-Pakistan-2023.png
Pakistan-4.5.jpg
1-2.jpg
1-1.png
Sania-Studying.png
photostory-hero-pak-covid19-4-05282020.jpg
pakistan-story-230819-i.jpg
Aerial-Flood-Wall-Pakistan-2023.png

Pakistan Floods: Five things to know 12 months on

Pakistan-4.5.jpg

Devastating Floods in Pakistan

1-2.jpg

A Mashara (Leader) for Afghan Women in Pakistan

1-1.png

Providing Food Packets to Afghan Families in Pakistan during the Pandemic

Sania-Studying.png

Improving Access to Primary Education in Pakistan, One Family at a Time

photostory-hero-pak-covid19-4-05282020.jpg

In Photos: Relief International Responds to COVID-19 Outbreak in Pakistan

pakistan-story-230819-i.jpg

Closing the Education Gap for Refugee Children in Pakistan

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2005

Relief International responds to a devastating 7.6 magnitude earthquake. Our teams provide life-saving relief in the form of shelter and emergency food and medical services to more than 200,000 survivors.

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2006

Pakistan’s pastoral communities rely on their herds to support their lives and livelihoods. In earthquake-affected communities, our teams on the ground provide women with new livestock, including goats, sheep, and cows, to ensure they can generate an income for themselves and their families. We also distribute buffalos, which are incredibly valuable for their ability to produce milk and meat, to vulnerable women in Mansehra district.

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2007

In June, Cyclone Yemyin makes landfall in Balochistan province, located along the border with Afghanistan and Iran, unleashing heavy rainfall and flooding across the province. Relief International leads a consortium of seven nonprofit organizations under the banner of Balochistan Relief and Development Network to provide immediate aid to communities located in the cyclone’s path.

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2008

As part of Relief International’s Pakistan Libraries Program, our teams provide books to 300 underserved schools and communities. We also provide these resources to girls who may not traditionally have access to these resources, in an effort to bridge gender gaps in literacy and access to education.

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2009

In Pakistan’s rural communities, families rely on their herds of sheep and cows to survive. Their close proximity to animals can quickly spark a disease epidemic, resulting in loss of food and income. Relief International leads initiatives to reduce the risks of Zoonotic diseases – passed between animals and people – to reduce the spread of disease among farmers and herders in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.

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2010

Heavy rainfall in late July and August unleash unprecedented flooding in one of the country’s worst natural disasters on record. High floodwaters destroy homes, crop fields, and infrastructure, leaving millions at risk of malnutrition and disease. In Punjab, Relief International works to combat child malnutrition by providing emergency food rations for more than 100,000 people in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Sindh provinces.

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2011

Nearly 400,000 people are forced to leave their homes due to an escalation in fighting in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Relief International provides support to these displaced families through economic development programs, including backyard poultry programs.

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2012

From early August through October, monsoon rains cause widespread loss of life, livelihoods, and infrastructure across the country. Our teams respond swiftly to the unfolding crisis, providing emergency provisions of clean water, food, shelter, hygiene kits, medical supplies, and services for 100,000 families located in Pakistan’s Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Punjab provinces.

2013

In flood-affected villages in southern Punjab, Relief International works to rebuild the area’s agricultural industry to help revive the local economy. Our efforts include developing sustainable farming practices, including kitchen gardens and vegetable plots managed by community members.

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2014

As part of a global Livestock for Life program, Relief International trains a wide network of community animal health workers and forms school health clubs to train a new generation in the management of zoonotic diseases. Relief International forges links with ministries across Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia to integrate zoonotic disease surveillance into existing government regulations.

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2019

Pakistan hosts one of the world’s largest refugee populations, sheltering 1.4 million registered Afghan refugees. Relief International works to break down socio-cultural barriers preventing Afghan refugee children, particularly girls, from continuing their studies. Through our PEACE program, our teams of education experts work to increase enrollment and retention among first and second grade Afghan refugee students.

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2005
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2006
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2007
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2008
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2009
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2010
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2011
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2012
2013
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2014
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2019
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Featured Project

Combatting Zoonotic Diseases in Pakistan

More than six in 10 infectious diseases in humans are spread from animals. These illnesses are known as zoonotic diseases, and Relief International has been working to combat them in Pakistan.

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Make a difference today

With a gift to Relief International, you can help deliver safe drinking water. You can help provide healthcare to displaced families, far from home. You can help ensure girls and boys alike receive an education, which in turn creates paths towards employment. This all starts with you.

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Bangladesh. Rachel Elkind/RI